'apoidea' originates from New Latin, specifically the taxonomic formation 'Apoidea', where the Latin word 'apis' meant 'bee' and the suffix '-oidea' (from Greek '-oeidēs') meant 'resembling' or 'having the form of'.

'apoidea' was formed in modern taxonomic usage (19th century onward) by combining classical roots: Latin 'apis' (bee) with the Greek-derived suffix '-oidea' to denote a group resembling or related to bees; it entered scientific English as the name of the superfamily.

Initially assembled as a descriptive formation meaning 'bee-like' or 'bee-related'; it has come to be used specifically as the formal name for the superfamily containing bees and some related wasps.